Florida's September foreclosure rate second worst in U.S.

Florida had the nation's second-highest foreclosure rate in September, an ignominious record achieved by beating out depressed housing markets in California and Arizona, according to the firm RealtyTrac. Foreclosure filings last month afflicted 47,956 Florida properties, or one in every 178 households. Only Nevada, with one in 82 properties facing foreclosure, came off worse. Hillsborough County showed the biggest monthly increase in the Tampa Bay area, with 4,663 properties falling into foreclosure. Pinellas County had 1,813 foreclosure cases, while Pasco and Hernando counties had 1,175 and 374 cases, respectively. Not every foreclosure case recorded by RealtyTrac will result in a home's confiscation by a bank. In most cases, the filings are initial complaints filed in court when payments are a couple of months late.